Moving on
by waterlooroad-jessica
Summary: Set a couple of years after the fire. Eddie never left. No Mel involved. When a young student starts acting up, secrets will be revealed; whats her relation to the head teacher and will she ever be able to recover? Warning: some mention of self harm. EVENTUAL REDDIE
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

In a school yard of a small town, everything was quiet and calm; the sun was shining, the sky was blue and clear of clouds and a gentle breeze kept the temperature cool. With only a couple of hundred children accepted, the classes were small with minimum distruption; and very rare to see, a headteacher who cared about the children's personal problems. Sat at her desk in her office, she had shoulder length auburn hair, sparkling blue eyes and her hands typing away on her laptop. Having been headteacher at Waterloo Road school for five years, she knew this was where she belonged, where she was accepted; she ran her long fingers through her left loose hair as she stood up and walked over to the window. She didn't really care about wearing anything really smart or posh because she knew she'd probably be dealing with something where her appearance didn't matter; but today she had decided to wear her black jacket and trousers with her knee length black boots - which she was forever running around in. She smiled as she took in the scenery outside, trying to remember what her secondary school looked liked and whether it was as peaceful as this school was; there was a knock on the door and it opened.

"Miss Mason, there's a situation in the canteen" her secretary, Bridget said.

"Thank you Bridget"

As Bridget went back to her desk, Rachel went hurriedly downstairs where a fight had broken out between two girls which her deputy, Kim Campbell, had to tried to break up.

"THIS STOPS RIGHT NOW!" Rachel shouted as the canteen went silent and the fighting ceased. "Everyone to their lessons, except you two" she pointed.

As everyone started to disperse out, she stood in front of the two girls with her arms crossed and legs together, her facial expression clearly showed she was not happy. Her eyebrows raised into a stern look as she still awaited sone kind of explanation.

"Well, I'm still waiting"

Both girls stood in silence, avoiding eye contact with each other and with Rachel and Kim. The taller girl had long black hair tied back into a ponytail and a look that clearly said 'I don't care'; the shorter girl had shoulder length plaits and an upset expression on her face. She looked down at her shoes as she tried to fight back the tears; she fell down to the ground as the taller girl, Rebecca, started on her again.

"I SAID ENOUGH!" Rachel shouted as she pulled Rebecca off and knelt at the side of the shorter girl, Nikki, to check she was okay.

"Kim, will you escort Rebecca to my office please?" she said as she looked up at her.

"Course, come on you" Kim said before leading Rebecca out of the canteen.

Rachel turned back to Nikki and helped her onto one of the chairs before getting some tissue and handing it to her as she sat next to her.

"Nikki, did Rebecca start on you?"

There was no answer as Nikki wiped her eyes and looked down at her lap.

"I can't help if you don't tell me"

Again, there was silence; Rachel sighed as she looked at Nikki. She knew she was hiding something but she could also tell that whatever it was, it was upsetting her and clearly affecting her state of mind.

"Okay, let's go" she said as she stood up.

"Where?" Nikki asked, looking at her.

"To the cooler; if you're not going to talk, you can stay in there and write me a two thousand word essay on why you think it is okay to fight in school"

"Fine"

As Nikki followed her to the cooler, she knew she had to sort things out; leaving Nikki, she headed to her office where she sat on her chair opposite Rebecca with her hands clapsed together on the desk.

"You can go now Kim; I'll deal with it from here"

"Okay"

As Kim left, Rachel pulled out Rebecca's file and opened it; she looked up at her and saw her smirk.

"You can take that smirk off your face for a start; you are already in big trouble..."

Author's not: so, what do you think? I had originally wrote this is a ordinary novel but decided to change some of the characters to fit waterloo road. It will eventually be Reddie but with plenty of drama along the way. Let me know if I should continue.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I dont own waterloo road or any of its characters.

Authors note: wow! I can not believe how popular this is or how many review or follows I received within an hour of posting. im glad people are liking this. There will be Reddie but not til later on. its a pretty slow moving story so please bear with me. im also having to change details around from my original copy so I will update as often as I can.

Also as the fic continues there will be some minor violence but I will warn you at the beginning of the chapter.

_Previously:_

_"You can take that smirk off your face for a start; you are already in big trouble..."_

"But I havent done anything"

"I dont call fighting not doing anything"

"I didnt start it"

"Do you expect me to believe that based on your record? You have already been warned because of fighting, using foul language and bullying; I said last time if anything else happened, you'd be out that door"

"But it wasnt my fault; she started it"

"You do not backchat either; the truth is you got caught fighting and you dont want to face the consequences"

"I would if I started it but I didnt; ask anyone who was there and they'll tell you what really happened"

"I will do, dont worry but right now, you are going to the cooler to write me a two thousand word essay on why you think its okay to fight in school and backchat teachers"

"That's not fair!"

"Do you want to make it three thousand?!"

"No"

"Then I suggest you shut up and get moving; and if I hear you two have been so much as even arguing, you'll be out. Do you understand?"

"Yes miss"

"Good, come on"

After making aure both Nikki and Rebecca were sorted, Rachel stood at the top of the stairs, with a drink as she leant against the banister and sighed. She went back into the office and sat on the corner sofa as she put the drink down abd looked out the window; it wasnt even lunch time yet and she had already had to sort out a fight and put two girls in the cooler. She knew it was going to be one of those days; she started the day happt but now it was going down hill; she thought of some of her better days and of her boyfriend, Tom Ellis. He'd been away on work for a werk and he was due back that afternoon; she had hoped to get away early but it wasbt going to happen now. She sighed as there was a knock on the door and a familiar face came in; she smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck as he kissed her.

"I thought you werent back until later?"

"I managed to get away early; how's your day going so far?"

"It's been better; it's just one of those days, I think. I'm glad you're here"

"So am I"

He leant in and kiased her again before they were interrupted by a knock at he door.

"Come in" Rachel said as she and Tom pulled away.

The door opened and Kim walked in.

"Sorry, am I interrupting? I can come back in a bit..."

"It's okay Kim; I was just leaving. I'll see you after work?" he asked Rachel.

"I'll give you a call when I'm done"

"Dont work too hard, bye"

He kiased her before leaving as Rachel and Kim sat on the sofa with their drinks; Rachel watched Tom drive off before turning back to look at Kim.

"So, what can I do for you?" Rachel asked as she took a sip of her drink.

"Nikki James; I get the feeling she's hiding something"

"So do I; this is so unusual for her. She's always been the type of girl to avoid trouble and get on with her work; I've not had to put her in the cooler before. Rebecca Jones on the otherhand..."

"Something just doesnt feel right; why would Rebecca knowingly cause a fight if she knew this was her last chance to prove herself?"

"But what reason would Nikki have to start trouble? She comes froma stable home life, got friends, never been bullied or in trouble; it doesnt make sense. Rebecca is insisting she didnt start the fight though"

** so what do you think? what could Nikki's problem be? another update coming soon.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: i dont own waterloo road or any of its characters.

Authors note: heres the next update. hope you like it. WARNING: MENTIONING OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE BUT NO ACTUAL VIOLENCE TAKING PLACE. again, some changes have been made; Eddie isnt deputy just an ordinary teacher and not a maths one either. A few friends will be mentioned but most characters except for rachel eddie and kim will be mine.

_Previously:_

_"But what reason would Nikki have to start trouble? She comes from a stable home life, got friends, never been bullied or in trouble; it doesnt make sense. Rebecca is insisting she didnt start the fight though"_

"So what do we do about it?" Kim asked as she and Rachel left the office and headed down the stairs.

"I think we should talk to Nikki's friends and anyone who saw anything that can help"

"But that's half the school"

"So...send a notice out; anyone who saw anything is to the hall at fourth period"

"I'll get right on it"

"I'm going to talk to her friends; I'll catch up with you later"

As Kim went towards the office, Rachel went to the english class where she knocked on the door and entered.

"Sorry to interrupt Miss Redpath, can i have a quick word with Ros and Chlo please?"

"Course, girls"

As the dark haired teacher went back to teaching the class, the girls joined Rachel outside in the corridor; both girls looked at each other before looking at Rachel who had noticed the scared and hesitant look in their eyes.

"Why dont we go and sit in the canteen, eh?" Rachel said, trying to make them more comfortable.

They walked down the corridor and through the brown doors where they sat up to one of the tables; Rachel sat one side and Ros and Chlo sat the other side. They had a little idea what she wanted to talk to them about but that worried them even more.

"Is Nikki okay miss?" Ros asked.

"I'm not sure; i know you three are friends but i need to know what happened earlier?"

Both girls were hesitant as they held hands.

"I know you want to remain loyal and i appreciate that but whether you tell me or someone else, i have to know what happened to find out why it happened"

Ros looked at Chlo as they paused.

"We dont know anything: she doesnt talk about what goes on outside of this place" Chlo said.

"But who went for who first?"

"Rebecca said something and then Nikki went for her; it didnt seem like her" Chlo answered.

"What did Rebecca say?"

"I dont know, i was getting a drink"

"What about you Ros?"

"I didnt hear either"

"Okay; you can go back to your lesson"

"Can we see her miss?" Ros asked.

"I'm sorry girls, maybe once we've cleared all this up; go back to your lesson now"

As Ros and Chlo left the canteen, Rachel sighed; she went back to her office where she pulled up her emails. She sent a message before going and sitting on the sofa; a while later, the phone rang. She sat back in her chair and answered the call.

"Rachel Mason speaking...hi...yes i do; how can i help? Oh...when did this...? No, i can let her know; it's no problem...okay well, thanks for letting me know and i'll speak to you soon...bye"

As she put the phone down, she sighed and put her hands over her mouth as she put her elbows on the desk; she now had an idea of why Nikki was so withdrawn and acting up but dealing with it, that was going to be hard and delicate. She took a few minutes to compose herself before heading out of the office and down to Kim's; she knocked on the door before entering and making sure the door was shut before sitting down.

"We have a major problem"

"Have you spoke to the friends?" Kim asked.

"Yeah, apparantly Nikki went for Rebecca after she said something, they dont know what was said though"

"So what's the problem?"

"I've just had a Detective Inspector Ross on the phone..."

"What did he say?"

"Er, something that could explain Nikki's behaviour"

"It's serious then?"

"Yeah, it's serious; according to DI Ross, Lucy James was admitted to Royal Manchester Hospital this morning with serious injuries and Richard James was allegedly responsible and taken into custody. It looks like a serious case of domestic violence"

"What's Lucy's condition?"

"It isnt looking good. I have to tell Nikki and get her to the hospital as soon as i can"

"Do you need help telling her?"

"I need you to keep the school going; some day this is turning out to be!"

Rachel sighed as she left the room; she went down to the cooler, whispered a message to Grantly before he and Rebecca left he room as Rachel sat next to Nikki as they looked at each other.

"Nikki, what happened earlier?"

"Nothing"

"Well, that isnt important right now; i've just had a call. Your mom is in the hospital"

"Why? When? How?" she panicked.

"We dont know...but your dad has been arrested. It looks like he was responsible"

"I knew this would happen" she whispered.

"Do you want to see her?"

Nikki nodded before Rachel hed her out, her arm around her shoulder; at the stairs by her office, Rachel went and got her coat and keys before leading Nikki out to the car.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: i dont own waterloo road or any of its characters.

Authors note: i dont have any medical training; purely going on what ive seen on tv

_Previously:_

_Nikki, what happened earlier?"_

_"Nothing"_

_"Well, that isnt important right now; i've just had a call. Your mom is in the hospital"_

_"Why? When? How?" she panicked._

_"We dont know...but your dad has been arrested. It looks like he was responsible"_

_"I knew this would happen" she whispered._

_"Do you want to see her?"_

_Nikki nodded before Rachel hed her out, her arm around her shoulder; at the stairs by her office, Rachel went and got her coat and keys before leading Nikki out to the car._

At the hospital, Nikki struggled to fight back the tears as they sat at Lucy's beside; she was on a life support Machine as well as having a broken arm, cracked ribs and a major head injury.

"What's he done to you mom?"

"Who Nikki?" Rachel asked.

"My dad"

"Has this happened before?"

"It's usually just mental abuse; he was never violent"

"Has he ever hurt you?"

"No"

"You know it could take a while for her to recover; the doctor said the next 48 hours are critical"

"I know"

"Is there someone you can stay with?"

"I wanna go back to school"

"You dont have to; we can stay here for as long as you want"

"I want to go"

"Okay but...you'll have to go back to the cooler; maybe some time alone will help?"

"Fine; i love you mom"

She kissed her mom before she and Rachel headed back to the school where Nikki headed srraight to the cooler as Rachel sighed and headed to her office; she put her coat on the rack before sitting in the chair. She took out her phone and nkticed Tom was calling her; she sighed and answered the call as she leant back in her chair and tried to act normal.

"Tom, sorry i missed your call earlier; things got really complicated here...course i missed you...i'll make it up to you, tonight, i promise" a knock at the door interrupted her, "I'm sorry; i have to go. I'll call you later; i love you"

She ended the dall as Kim came in and sat opposite her.

"How did it go at the hospital?"

"Not good; the next 48 hours are critical. Nikki did start to open up though; it turns out that her dad has been abusing her mom mentally. He's never been violent before though so something obviously happened this morning for him to kick off; she didnt want to stay there. I dont even know where she's going to go tonight"

"Has she got any other family she can stay with?"

"Not sure; i dont want to push her too much. How did you get on?"

"Apparantly Rebecca made some wide crack about Nikki been a goody two shoes a d having the perfect family"

"Which is why she went for her; how did things get this far and so complicated?"

"She didnt feel like she could trust anyone"

"Well, we're going to have to try and solve this and keep it quiet; i'll brief all the staff in the meeting in the morning. As for tonight, I'll sort something out for her"

"Do you want me to try talking to her?"

"I think she'll open up more to me...you know?"

"Okay"

"What a morning! I was hoping to get away early and spend some time with Tom"

"Maybe you still can"

"I have a duty to make sure Nikki is okay and has somewhere to stay tongiht, at least"

"I'll make sure nobody goes near the cooler; keep all the kids in the canteen or outside"

"That might be for the best; okay, i'm going to get something to eat fot her and let Rebecca go"

"Okay"

As Kim went out, Rachel got up and went down to the canteen where she got a couple of sandwiches and some dessert and drinks before taking it upstairs where she went into the cooler. She put the tray down before standing in front of Rebecca and looking at her with her hands resting flat on the table.

"I know you didnt physically start the fight but it was your comments that did; i want you to apolpgise to Nikki and then leave, but i warn you, i dont even want to her your name been mentioned by any teacher unless it's something good. Do you understand?"

"Yes miss"

"Now apologise to Nikki and we'll forget about the essay too"

Rachel watched as Rebecca stood up and walked over to Nikki who looked up at her, upset.

"I'm sorry for what i said; it was uncalled for and wrong of me to say"

"Okay" she whispered.

As Rebecca left the room, Rachel put the tray on the table and sat opposite to Nikki; she handed her a sandwich, dessert and drink which she left on the table.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: i dont own waterloo road or any of its characters.

Authors note: five chapters in and i know there has been no mention of eddie but please bear with me. he will be in it soon.

_Previously:_

_As Rebecca left the room, Rachel put the tray on the table and sat opposite to Nikki; she handed her a sandwich, dessert and drink which she left on the table._

Rachel ate her sandwich as she looked at Nikki, writing; she put her sandwich down and took the pen off of her.

"You need to try and eat something; i know its hard but you need to try"

"What's going to happen to me tonight?"

"Is there anyone you can stay with?"

"Maybe at my nans but it's too far from here and the hospital"

"What about with Chlo or Ros?"

"Dont think so"

"They're really worried about you; why didnt you talk to them or to one of us?" Rachel asked as she continued with her sandwich.

Nikki shrugged her shoulders as she looked down; Rachel sighed and put her sandwich down again.

"We have to find you somewhere to stay tonight; i cant...wont...let you go otherwise"

"Ros and Chlo?"

"They're in the canteen; do you want to talk to them?"

Nikki nodded.

"I'm sure we can make an exception just this once"

Rachel put her lunch on the tray and put it on the front desk before leaving the room; she went downstairs to the canteen where Ros and Chlo were sat up to a table, eating.

"Girls, can i have a word?" Rachel asked quietly as she bent at the side of the table.

They looked at each other before they grabbed their bags and drinks and followed Rachel out of the canteen and into an empty classroom.

"What's going on miss?" Ros asked.

"Nikki needs her friends; this is in confidence but her mom is in the hospital and it isnt looking good"

"What about her dad?"

"No; the thing is, she needs somewhere to stay...at least for tonight"

"She can stay at mine" Chlo offered, kmowing Izzie wouldnt mind.

"Good"

"Is this why she kicked off this morning?"

"We think so; she wants to see you guys"

"Can we?"

"Come on"

Rachel led them upstairs where she grabbed her lunch and left the room, looking through the window as Nikki hugged her firends and cried.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: i dont own Waterloo Road or any of its characters. Please check out my other Waterloo Road fics: the heart never lies (rated T) and getting the girl (rated m)

_Previously:_

_Rachel led them upstairs where she grabbed her lunch and left the room, looking through the window as Nikki hugged her friends and cried._

Rachel left her food in the office before grabbing a drink and heading outside where she stood with Kim as they kept an eye on things.

"How's she doing?" Kim asked.

"Not good; i've left her with Ros and Chlo for a while. She has a place to stay tonight too; that's one less thing to worry about"

"What are we going to do though? We cant just let her get away with fighting because of the circumstances; what kind of message is that sending out to the rest of them?"

"I know; maybe we can just delay it until we know what is going to happen with her mom and dad?"

"You're the head, it's your decision"

"It's a complicated situation we've got; i'll be in my office if you need me"

"Okay"

Rachel went back inside and up to her office where she sat at her desk and dialled a number.

"Hi, can you put me through to DI Ross please? Thank you" she had some of her drink and pulled out her notebook and pen. "Yes, hello; this is Rachel Mason speaking. I was wondering if you had spoke to Mr James' mother? Right well, would it be possible for me to have the contact details so i can arrange accomodation for Lucy's daughter? Thank you; thats brilliant" she said as she wrote down the number. "Is the house still off limits or can we get some of Nikki's things? Okay, no problem; i'll speak to you soon. Okay. Bye"

She ended the call and sighed before phoning Mary, Richard's mother; afterwards, she went back to the cooler where Ros and Chlo went to get another drink for Nikki as Rachel sat opposite her so they could look at each other.

"I've spoke to your nan; she's on her way down to look after you. She'll be here later but she's staying at a B&B tonight but you'll be okay with Ros tonight, wont you? If not, we can sort something out for you?"

"I'll be fine"

"Now, i've spoken to the officer in charge and the house is still off limits but you can get some stuff if you want me to take you?"

"Okay"

"You come and find me when you're ready and you can bring Ros or Chlo if you want to?"

Nikki nodded as Ros and Chlo came back and Rachel left; she went up to the office where she sat on the sofa and sighed. She rested her head on her raised hand as she looked out the window; a while went by and a knock at the door disturbed her thoughts. She looked up as Nikki entered; Rachel put on her coat and picked up her keys before they left the school and got in the car. Rachel accompanied Nikki to the house before helping to collect some of her things and leaving. She dropped her off at Ros' and made sure she was settled and okay before heading back to the school; in her office, she found Kim sat waiting for her. She sat on the sofa as she was handed a drink; Rachel sighed and looked at her

"How's Nikki doing?"

"She was a little better when i left her with Ros; what a day its been!"

"You should head off; go and see Tom"

"I've got some making up to do with him; i'll see you in the morning for the staff meeting"

"Yeah"

Rachel put her drink down and grabbed her bag before she left; she drove to their small flat in the outer sidr of Manchester. She pulled up abd locked the car before letting herself in; shutting the door, she turned round to see Tom waiting for her. He led het through to the kitchen where he handed her a glass of wine before they sat on the sofa in the living room as he held her hand and wrapped his arm around her.

"I'm sorry about earlier; it's just been a really crap day. So much to deal with"

"It's over now; lets just relax"

"How was work?"

"Lonely without seeing you everyday"

"I was so looking forward to today; i was gonna finish early and cook you a nice meal"

"That doesnt matter; how about i order a takeaway for us?"

"Perfecg; i'm gonna grab a shower"

"Okay"

He kissed her before she took her drink and headed for the bathroom; after her shower, she sat in her pyjamas, dressing gown and slippers as they enjoyed their food. They then laid in bed and watched a film and talked until Rachel finally drifted off; Tom gently turned the light and TV off before kissing her forehead and drifting off.


End file.
